Decorative insulating material and process of making the same.



L. T. FIREDERTGK.

DECORATIVE INSULATING MATERIAL AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME. APPLICATION men NOV-25.1914. RENEWED OCT. 2. 1918.

1,284,644. 12mm Nov. 12, 1018.

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ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS T. FREDERICK, OF WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB, TO WESTING- HOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

DECORATIVE INSULATING MATERIAE AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 12, 1918.

Application filed November 25, 1914, Serial No. 873,954. Renewed October 2, 1918. Serial No. 256,626.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, LOUIS T. FREDERICK, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident ,"of \Vilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulilmprovement in Decorative Insulating materials and Processes of Male ing the same, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to decorative laminated material and particularly to electrical insulating material made by assembling laminations of fabric impregnated with resinous substances, and it has for its object to produce insulating material of the class above indicated that shall have decorative markings upon its surface. More particularly, the object of my invention is to provide laminated insulating material having the appearance of grained wood.

A very common and effective form of electrical insulating material is made by superposing sheets of paper, cloth or other absorbent fabric that has previously been coated or impregnated with a phenoliccondensation product or other resinous insulating substance and subjecting the pile of laminations to heat and pressure in order to compact them into a unitary mass. When a phenolic condensation product is the resinous substance employed. the application of heat and pressure results in the alteration of the condensation product, which is changed from its fusible condition into a hard infusible mass which holds the fibrous material firmly embedded within it.

According to my present invention, I vary the process outlined above in such a mannor that the resulting composite plates or blocks will present an ornamental appearance and will therefore be especially suitable for use in indoor electrical fixtures and in other situations where a pleasing appearance is desirable. I obtain these results by variously coloring the resinous material with which the sheets of fabric are impregnated and by stacking laminations of different colors in a predetermined order and submitting the pile of laminations to various distortions and other manipulations, according to the appearance which the finished material is to present.

' The figures of the accompanying drawing illustrate the several steps by means of which apparatus.

I produce insulating material having the surface appearance of grained wood. Figure 1 is a perspective view representing a stack of alternate dark and light laminations of impregnated fabric; Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the stack of laininations folded upon itself and inclosed within a press; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the press illustrated in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a plan view of a plate of insulating material produced according to my process.

The process illustrated by the drawing may be carried out by first providing a number of strips of paper, cloth or other suitable material that has-been coated or impregnated with a resinous binder, some of the laminations being prepared with' resin that has been dyed black, while the remaining laminations are impregnated with resin that is either uncolored or has been given a light brown color corresponding to the lighter portions of oak wood. The lami nations are then stacked on edge, as shown in Fig. 1, dark sheets 1 being interposed between light sheets 2. The alternate dark and light layers are preferably made of different thicknesses in order that the resulting lines upon the surface of the material may be irregular in thickness as Well as in direction. The stacked strips, which are slightly wider than the desired thickness of the finished plate, are then twisted and turned to give any desired figure effect. For example, the strips may be merely folded upon themselves as'shown in Fig. 2. The material is then clamped in any convenient press while cold. in order to make it dense and free from air pockets. In the particular folded arrangement shown in Fig. 2, the sheets may conveniently be made of successively increasing lengths in order that, when they are folded, the outer ends maybe even as shown at 3, but this arrangement is not necessary and the irregularity of the'ends of the sheets may even be an advantage in' producing irregular. configurations. Heat and pressure are then applied to the clamped strips for the purpose of uniting the strips and solidifying the resin and also to give a further distortion to the edges of the sheets.

The clamping, heating and pressing operations may be performed in any convenient As shown on the drawing, all of these operations are performed in a single press, which consists of a base 1, movable sides 5 and a plunger 6. The sides may be laterally adjusted by means of screws 7, and the bottom of the press is adapted to be heated by means of an electrical heating element 8 supplied with current through conductors 9. This apparatus is merely illustrative. and forms no part of my invention. The downward movement of the plunger 6, by means of which the final pressure is applied to the plate should be limited, in order that the edges of the sheets may not be distorted too greatly, and the resulting plate presents the general grained appearance of the plate 10 shown in Fig. 4.

Rods having the appearance of polished and grained wood may zlso bemade by pressing the laininations into a plate without distortion and without the application of heat, cutting the plate transversely to the general direction of the laminations into rectangular rods, and then pressing these rods in a circular mold, preferably with the application of bakelizing heat. Rods manufactured in this manner are well suited for use as billiard cues, canes and for all other purposes where ornamental wooden rods are now employed.

As a variation of the method just described for making circular rods, the laminations stacked together in the first operation may be of the proper width'to be plfaced in the circular mold without being cut into rods. In this case, no preliminary pressing is necessary, the strips of impregnated fabric being tied together temporarily before being placed in the mold. In both of these modifications of the process, the distortion, shaping and heating are accomplished simultaneously;

It will be evident that the precise appearance presented by the finished material may be varied indefinitely at the will of the operator by selecting laminations of different colors, arranging them in ditterent orders, and twisting and turning them in different directions. and it is to be understood that my invention is not restricted to any particular selection out these conditions. It is also to be understood that any laminated flexible material that can be made to cohere is suitable for use in my process and that other configurations than that of grained wood may be produced by suitably manipulating the sheets. In view of the wide limits within which my process may be varied without departing from the scope of my invention, I desire that only such limitations be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A process of making decorative laminated material that comprises stacking a plurality of sheets or strips of flexible mate rial, distorting the associated laminations and thereby producmg a decorative design ee met of the said stack, and compacting them into a' unitary mass.

3. A process of making decorative laminated material that comprises stacking a plurality of variously colored sheets oi strips of flexible material, distorting the as sociated laminations and thereby producing a multicolored design upon the surface at the said stack, and applying heat and pressure to the said stack to produce a unitary mass.

4. A process of making decorative laininated material that comprises associating a plurality of laminations of flexible material, distorting the resulting stack of laminations, and applying pressure to the sides of the said stack that are formed by the edges of the said laminations.

5. A process of making decorative insulating material that comprises stacking a plurality of variously colored sheets or strips of flexible insulating material, distorting the resulting stack of laminations, and thereby producing a multi-colored design thereon and pressing the distorted stack into a unitary mass.

6. A process of making decorative insulating material that comprises associating a plurality of lamina-tions of absorbent mate rial treated with a plastic insulating substance, distorting the resulting stack of lami nations and thereby producing a decoratije design upon the surface of the said stacivt and pressing the distorted stack into a unttary mass.

7 A process of making decorative insulating material that comprises associating a plurality of variously colored laminations of fibrous material treated with a phenolic condensation product, distorting the resulting stack of laminations and thereby producing a multicolored design upon the-sun face of the said stack, and pressing the distorted stack into a unitary mass.

8. A process of making decorative insulating material that comprises associating a plurality of variously colored laminations 0t flexible insulating material, distorting the resulting stack of laminations, clamping the said stack in its distorted position, and applying pressure to the sides of the said stack that are formed by the edges of the said laminations.

9. A process of making decorative laminated material that comprises associating a plurality of relatively narrow and variouslycolored strips of flexible material, placing 'll. A process of making decorative insulating material that comprises associating a plurality. of variously colored laminations of fibrous material treated with a phenolic condensation product, irregularly distorting the resulting stack of laminations, clamping the said stack in its distorted position, ap-

plying pressure to the sides of the said stack that are formed by the edges of the said laminations, and simultaneously heating the said stack.

12. A process of making decorative insulating material, having the superficial appearance of grained wood, that comprises assoc-iating on edge a plurality of variously ll? a colored strips of fibrous material impregnated with a phenolic condensation product, the said strips being slightly wider thanthe desired thickness of the finished material, irregularly distorting the resulting stack of laminations, clamping the said stack in its distorted position while cold, applying pres- 'sure to the sides of the said stack that are formed by the edges of the said laminations, and simultaneously heating the said stack.

18. Decorative composite material composed of distorted laminations of absorbent fibrous sheet material and a binder.

14. Decorative composite material composed of distorted laininations of variouslycolored fibrous sheet material associated by means of a binder.

15. Decorative composite material composed of variously-colored laminations of fabric sheet material associated by means of a binder, the said laminations being distorted to produce the appearance of grained wood.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sub scribed my name this 18th day of Nov. 1914.

LOUIS T. FREDERICK.

Witnesses:

GOLDIE E. McGEE, B. B. HINES. 

